A Participative Inquiry in a TESOL Program: Development of Three NNES Graduate Students’ Legitimate Peripheral Participation to Fuller Participation

Abstract

While the existing literature has documented the positive impact of new discourses and interventions on nonnative English speaker (NNES) graduate students through Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)‐related courses (Brutt‐Griffler & Samimy, 1999; Kamhi‐Stein, 1999; Pavlenko, 2003), long‐term effects of those interventions have not been yet reported. Using a participative inquiry method (Reason, 1994a) over a 3.5‐year period, we, as NNESs, co‐researchers, co‐participants, and co‐authors, documented 3 NNES graduate students’ journey from legitimate peripheral participation to fuller participation in a TESOL program. The study explores 2 main research questions: (a) How did the NNES seminar empower 3 NNES graduate students as academic and professional members of TESOL communities? (b) In addition to the NNES seminar, what kinds of interventions were available and how did the inventions help the 3 NNES TESOL graduate students maintain/reinforce their empowered selves throughout their journey in academic and professional communities? Based on the research findings, pedagogical implications are discussed regarding NNESs’ empowerment and mentoring relationships.